Syria Media Roundup (June 12)

[Image of a boy walking with his artificial limb in rebel-held Maaret al-Numan, Syria. Image by Khalil Ashawi via Flickr]

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]

Pro-Assad alliance threatens to hit U.S. positions in Syria (7 June, 2017) A military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad threatened on Wednesday to hit U.S. positions in Syria, warning its "self-restraint" over U.S. air strikes would end if Washington crossed "red lines".

Beyond Raqqa, an Even Bigger Battle to Defeat ISIS and Control Syria Looms (10 June, 2017) Anne Barnard writes "American-backed forces have begun an assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s hub in northern Syria, and signs are that they could capture the long-sought target with relative ease. Yet the militant group’s commanders, who have already withdrawn their toughest forces from the city, and most everyone else in Syria’s multifaceted war are looking ahead to an even more decisive battle in the south."

Policy and Reports

The complex battle for control in eastern Syria (30 May, 2017) Ever since a deal was struck in the Kazakh capital of Astana early this month to de-escalate the conflict in western Syria, all eyes have been turning east. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies have just launched an operation to “take control of the eastern desert in Syria”. It is not just about driving out the Sunni extremist group known as the Islamic State, but also about preventing other rivals from filling the void.

No Syrian 'Marshall Plan' but rather protracted war: Red Cross (2 June, 2017) Syria is unlikely to see a major "Marshall Plan" for reconstruction as peace remains elusive despite hundreds of thousands more civilians possibly returning to their homes, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday.

Raqqa civilians face mines, snipers, use as human shields: IRC (6 June, 2017) Civilians trapped in the Syrian city of Raqqa risk being killed by Islamic State snipers or mines if they try to flee but could be used by the militants as human shields if they remain, a leading humanitarian aid organization said on Tuesday.

U.S. says Syria bombing was legal; rights group disputes findings (7 June, 2017) A U.S. military investigator said on Wednesday that a March 16 air strike near Aleppo, Syria, was a valid and legal attack on a meeting of al Qaeda fighters and did not kill dozens of civilians as reported, a finding disputed by Human Rights Watch.

Polio outbreak in Syria poses vaccination dilemma for WHO (9 June, 2017) Vaccinating too few children in Syria against polio because the six-year-old war there makes it difficult to reach them risks causing more cases in the future, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, posing a dilemma after a recent outbreak.

The Life and Death of One of Syria’s Most Beloved Minesweepers (6 June, 2017) Abu al Fadl devoted the final months of his life to clearing al-Bab of improvised explosives left behind by ISIS in everything from washing machines to cooking pots. The 60-year-old destroyed roughly 3,500 mines before one took his life.

This is for Syria! (6 June, 2017) Omar Imady wonders "How does killing an eight-year-old girl at a concert in Manchester help my wounded country heal? How does it help the young women and men of Syria who marched for freedom and dignity attain these objectives?"

More Scholarships for Syrians, But Many Fail to Meet Refugees’ Needs (7 June, 2017) Though the number of higher-education scholarships for Syrian students is growing, the expansion cannot meet demand and many do not offer appropriate fields of study, location or support for refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, Rasha Faek reports for Al-Fanar Media.

Sebastian Junger's New Documentary About Syria (10 June, 2017) At the center of the extraordinary new documentary “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of isis,” débuting this Sunday, at 9 p.m., on National Geographic, a Syrian family tries to make sense of the disaster that has overtaken it.

فيلم ضائع في لبنان.. عناءات اللجوء وأحلام العودة (June 8, 2017) Lost in Lebanon is a film that covers over a year in Lebanon and the Syrian borders and tells the story behind the news reports and reflects the strange chaotic lives of the people living in the shadow of the Syrian war.

حرب حزيران 1967 This link provides access to three pieces by Marwan Habash, the former Ba'athist Minister of Industry in 1967, who recounts the causes and consequences of the Six-Days War on the occasion of the 50s anniversary of the Six-Days War and the defeat of Arab.

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